Nursed back to health, these little piggies are ready to go wee-wee-wee -- all the way home

By Grant Welker, gwelker@lowellsun.com

Updated:
03/05/2013 12:45:49 PM EST

Rescued from a cold Lowell street on a freezing day in January, two 4-month-old pot-bellied pigs, George and Harriet, are back in an environment where they belong -- Nevins Farm in Methuen. And keeping them company are 25 horses, two cows, four goats and an uncountable number of farm birds and other animals.

The pigs were scared and underweight when the city's animal-control officers scooped them up and brought them to a veterinary hospital to recuperate. Now they're ready to go home as someone's pets.

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is looking for someone who might want to adopt George and Harriet. Pot-bellied pigs -- smaller than the typical farm pig -- should be kept in a sheltered area outdoors, but they are increasingly finding homes as less-than-typical pets.

No, it isn't every day that two piglets are found in a city like Lowell, but it has happened before, the MSPCA said.

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"It happens more often than the average person would think," said Heather Robertson, the group's community-outreach coordinator.

Last year, the organization got a few stray goats and sometimes gets roosters, she added.

The MSPCA isn't sure how George and Harriet -- named for George T. Angell and Harriet Nevins, two historical MSPCA figures -- got there, but speculates they were probably purposely abandoned. It isn't clear whether they are siblings but it may be likely considering how young they were when they were found, Robertson said.

Heather Robertson of the MSPCA tends to two pot-bellied pigs found abandoned in Lowell Harriet, the black one, and George. They are ready for adoption. Sun / Bob Whitaker

The city's animal-control office did not return a call and email seeking comment.

However, they ended up on the streets, the piglets were not well cared for.

"Both George and Harriet were very thin and had patchy coats -- making it difficult for them to stay warm in the freezing cold weather," said Melissa Ghareeb, who heads the barn program at Nevins Farm, a temporary home for hundreds of farm animals awaiting adoption. "Despite their condition, they were friendly and very attached to one another."

In fact, when Harriet was spayed by the Nevins veterinary team, George accompanied her to comfort her though the operation, the MSPCA said. Because of their bond, the two piglets must be adopted together, the group said.

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